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Bringing cannabis to an airport is something most people would never think of doing. The benefits do not outweigh the risks. The fact that cannabis is a popular substance worldwide that can be found rather easily, prevents people from transporting it across state lines. While other airports in states with legal cannabis have made it clear bringing cannabis on their jurisdiction is not acceptable, LAX has decided to take a different approach. They have announced they will be allowing passengers to possess amounts that stay within the state’s current cannabis laws. This means that local police will not arrest people in the airport’s jurisdiction. Those who are departing the airport to a different location are no longer provided legal protection once they leave. It’s also possible TSA could hold you up until local police sort out the issue. The TSA is required to report violations of federal law and possessing marijuana is still illegal federally.

It appears the key to staying out of trouble for traveling with marijuana via plane is knowing the local laws of the state you are departing and arriving in. We can only hope that other airports take a similar stance publicly about their policy on recreational/medical weed. Until it becomes a trend in airports across the country I would avoid bringing anything along for the ride. Those with serious medical conditions that are willing to take the risk to ensure the availability of their specific strain/product should only bring what is allowed in both states. TSA claims they are not looking for drugs but upon their discovery will report it to local law enforcement. This is a primary reason why it shouldn’t be declared until it has been discovered.

For Los Angeles specifically, the state is allowing anyone over the age of 21 to carry up to an ounce of flower and 8 grams of concentrates. That should be more than enough to get you through your trip. There have been reports of medical marijuana patients being permitted to carry much larger amounts of their medicine because of California’s generous possession amounts for patients. It seems there is only one way to find out exactly what will result from a marijuana discovery outside of LAX. I’m not willing to test the waters myself, but I am interested in what will happen over time as people become more bold about traveling with their legal marijuana. Assuming other airports follow suit with a policy change reflecting their local laws, the TSA might stop bothering to report it at all. It’s also possible that if this becomes a trend, the federal government may respond and find a new way to prosecute these people. Technically most of these flights are in the jurisdiction of many more than 2 places. Today only 9 states have protections for recreational use and possession. So the vast majority of the country is still enforcing prohibition and this could be a technicality the government uses to respond like it usually does and target cannabis.